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Aviation History
1972
1972 - 2621.PDF
442 FLIGHT International, 2&5eptember (972 Somewhat surprisingly, but owing to non availability of Government stores, no missile firings have taken place from the Blackhawk, although the aircraft has been engineered to take a variety ranging from Tow through Swingfire, Hot, Hornet and Maverick to Harm—this is a Sparrow 3 (right). Below left, the rotor-head fairing and bifilar vibration absorber, both of which help to reduce maintenance hours per flight hour flight evaluation, to define the best technical approach to any modifica tions, to gather cost information and, perhaps most importantly, to define a production aircraft. As a result of the tests considerable equipment modifications were carried out and the Blackhawk subjected to further com pany-sponsored tests. The main improvements have come in the navigation and attack systems. Heart of these is the Litton Navfire, which consists of an LN-33 INS (also fitted on the Northrop F-5E) coupled with a Litton LC-4516 digital com puter. This in effect turns the Black hawk into an all-weather, day and night aircraft, with the Navfire able to compute the position of targets and store up to 16 of them, or navigation waypoints, for possible future use. Also included in the improved equip- "Flight" photograph ment are a Norden head-up display, a Honeywell helmet-sight, a projected map display by Computing Devices of Canada, the Dalmo Victor low-light- level television and the General Electric XM 197 swivelling turret system and 20mm gun. Also follow ing the US Army evaluation, provision was made for a single, removable external cargo hook with a carrying capacity of 8,0001b, and a thermally and acoustically insulated compart ment for up to six troops was installed. One of the major advances claimed by Sikorsky to have resulted from development of the bifilar vibration absorber is a marked reduction in maintenance hours per hour flown. The inclusion of the absorber as well as the new weather-proof rotor-head fairing should, says Robert Corey, pro gramme manager, bring S-67 main- SIKORSKY S-67 BLACKHAWK DATA tenance man-hours down to 5-78 per flight hour. This compares with 11-38 man-hours per flight hour on a present standard SH-3 and about 8-5 man- hours on an SH-3 with the bifilar. In this month's tour, Sikorsky is taking the S-67 to the German Navy, Army and Ministry of Defence, and to the US Army in Germany. If, as Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker once said, the armed battle helicopter has only a limited tactical value in a highly sophisticated theatre of war, the Blackhawk tour may prove to be something of a red herring. If, on the other hand, the prime Warsaw Pact threat of a highly mobile ground force is assumed in Europe, the countries of the Continent might do well to look closely at what a tank- killer helicopter of the Blackhawk type could achieve. C.M.G. Performance Dive speed, 200kt, 370km/hr; cruising speed, 175kt, 324km/hr; best rate of climb, sea level, 2,350ft/min 11-93m/sec; best single-engine rate of climb, 315ft/min, 1-6m/sec; hover ceiling, OGE, 6,500ft; service ceiling (estimated), 17,000ft; endurance with 1,5001b payload, 3hr; ferry range, 732 n.m. Weights Empty, 12,5141b, 5,680kg; basic operating (two crew and 45min fuel), 14,0001b, 6,350kg; maximum gross, 22,0501b, 10,000kg; useful load (medium mission), 6,000lb, 2,720kg. Equipment options—Sighting systems Helmet-mounted day/night gun/missile, combined with laser range-finder; fixed sight for wing stores; stabilised pantograph. Navigation, fire control Litton Navfire; CDC projected map display; flight director; Norden head-up display. Night-vision Dalmo Victor low-light-level TV; forward-looking infra-red (FLIR). Pilot's position in the rear seat of the Blackhawk (below left), with the CDC projected map display prominent. A production version has been designed, but dimensions below are for the single prototype 27-4" 133 m -64'2"_ 79.56 m -74'1"- 22.58 m-
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